Technique: Chipboard Shortage, Creative Solutions

Technique: Chipboard Shortage, Creative Solutions

Has this ever happened to you... you are right in the midst of a creative flurry, designing your little heart out. Your photos are rocking and the papers are the perfect hue...all is well and you are are the home stretch of actually completing a layout at the crop event. Alas, you will be able to show a finished work of art to your husband... instead of the typical ... I have this in progress and this and I am going to work on this...yada yada yada

Whoa.... stop to show. Crud! The most amazing chipboard in world, seemingly designed with just your layout in mind...well it seems there are not enough letters to complete the desired tile. Double-crud!

This happened to me recently and I just had to dig deep to "get 'er done". My solution: Use the chipboard outline, where I had previously used the letters and use them as a stencil to fill in the missing letters I needed.

Using a heavier weight pen, I made the letters bold so they would stand out against the patterned paper.

I took my stenciled letters and layered some actual chipboard letters for a unique (and thrifty) application.

To frame the custom title, I used simple strips of cardstock for a bold, defined look. 

Gotta love the 3-D look of this work. Dimension and pop - but possible on a small product budget. And even better maximized use of existing product!

For the final touch, I added some hand written journaling. I am a big believer in using your own hand writing on your scrapbook work. I can tell you that looking at my Grandmothers albums, seeing her hand writing makes them very special. It really does not matter if you have beautiful writing, don't miss the point, your family wants a part of you on that page, telling the story. 

There are some layouts that don't require you to write a deep, insightful novel, just a quick note to go along with the story that the photos are already telling. Sometimes keeping it simple is just fine. 

Keep on creating!

XOXO

~Dionne

Ingredients:
Paper:   Prima Ferrulle
Cardstock:  Bazzill Black
Chipboard:  Scenic Route Capital Hill
Other:  Maya Road Sheers, Prima Floral

New Year - New Altered Design - Nook Case

With Christmas comes new gifts and gadgets. The kids all received Nooks this year, they love to read, so it's a great gift.

Those are expensive little devices and we shopped for cases and ended up with some serious sticker shock. That little adventure inspired me to create a custom Nook cover.  Check it out:

Tips: Chipboard Shortage - Solutions

Tips: Chipboard Shortage - Solutions

Not only will this technique save your bacon while at a crop away from home and the comfort of having your entire chipboard stash nearby, it will also save you some money (so you can buy more awesome products to hoard....I mean collect).

So the design dilemma, I had the perfect size and shape alpha chipboard letters to finish my layout - but not nearly enough of letters I needed. Solution: use the chipboard sheet that hold the alpha as a stencil to trace the letters I was missing. Using a black American Craft s Stamp Marker I was able to achieve a bold trace.

Scrapbook Problem Solving: How to deal with not so great photos

This happens to everyone at some point, bad light, bad camera, whatever the cause. The moment you wanted to capture is blow out, crazy color, etc. Here's how I handled the situation when it happened after recently "upgrading" my pocket camera. Side note, let's just say my trusty Rebel will be my first choice in the future until the new camera is outta here.

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Top Ten Chipboard Layouts - Personal Favs - Ode to Chipboard

Ode to Chipboard - my favorite product to design with!

Ode to Chipboard.....

Oh chipboard, how I love thee

There you are plain, raw, yet beautiful in your simplicity, but this you already knew

Your possibilities are endless, making you perfect, how you are coveted by me

I will never tire of sanding, misting and painting you, achieving the perfect hue

You are the finishing touch, the icing on the cake, we all know it's true

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Top Ten Layouts Featuring Chipboard - My Personal Favs

1. You Rock & Run

2. Pre-Ker

3. Yeah Fall!  Check out the techniques on this layout - click here!

4. Fresh Face

5. Willful

6. Goodnight Girls!

7. Extreme Me

8. These Shoes

9. So This is Christmas?

10. It's a Triplet Thing

Technique: Distress Paint & Glimmer Mist

Title: Yeah Fall
Format: 12 x 12

Ingredients
Adironack Alcohol Ink Latte
Delish Bikkies Chipboard Letters
KI Memories Lace Cardstock Flower Child Socialite
Pinwheel Flower Brads
Ranger Crackle Paint Peeled Paint
Scenic Route Sumner North Street Patterned Paper
Scenic Route Sumner Village Drive Patterned Paper
Scenic Route Sumner Jounaling Die Cuts
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Autumn Leaves
Tattered Angels Fibers Olive Vine
Zig Journaling Pen


Special Techniques

Glimmer Mist applied to pattered paper and lace cardstock with brayer.

Use a Craftmat to protect your work area. Layout your lace cardstock and spray Glimmer Mist lightly, then spread out with a brayer. Heat set to speed up drying time.

Spray glimmer mist around the edge of your patterned paper - use heat gun to speed up drying time.

Chipboard title painted with crackle paint, heat set and sprayed with glimmer mist

Paint a generous coat of crackle paint on your chipboard, the thicker you coat the chipboard the more crackly you will get. Optional - you may want to start with a base coat of paint before applying your crackle. Allow to air dry.

Once your chipboard is completely dry apply a coat of Glimmer Mist for a sparkly touch.

Here's a close up of the finished chipboard.
Pinwheel brads altered with alcohol ink and use to attach fibers directly to photo
The pinwheel brads where too shiny for this project. So I used alcohol ink to change the color.
Use a dabber to apply the ink directly to your metal embellishments. Allow to air dry or use a heat gun to speed up the process.
Assemble the pieces and you are done!